Blood Moon
by Driver3196
Summary: A rare astronomical event, several strange occurrences, and befriending new people are about to throw high school student Chandra Nalaar for a whirlwind of horror and adventure.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: A Day In The Life**

'_October 31, 1419_

_Thalia drew her blade, her husband Odric at her side. They had been preparing for months, and now they would finally trap him. The fae queen Oona fluttered up beside her. "The prison is ready, my liege," the noble sprite said. Thalia nodded, turning to her husband._

"_Today we finally trap the Profane Prince," she said, a hint of giddiness in her voice. Odric only grunted as he looked to the sky, thick with clouds. Oona began chanting, the faeries in the trees around Thraben joining their queen, and the clouds cleared, letting them see the Profane Prince approach. But the clear sky revealed something far worse. The sky was a deep crimson, the moon blood red. No stars shone tonight, only the dim light of the Blood Moon. Cathars began marching out of the city to join the warrior lovers, each one anticipating a fight for the ages as they heard the demon roar in the distance. His silhouette could be seen against the moon, growing larger as he approached the small settlement. Each soldier readied their weapons as the demon landed, standing only a few yards from Thalia and Odric and towering over them, thirty feet tall. Even the faeries in the trees could feel his hot breath and smell his foul odor as they readied the imprisonment spell. The demon only chuckled._

"_Your attempts to rid this world of evil are all in vain, Thalia," he boomed. "You may imprison me, but the Blood Moon will rise again, and I will break free. And in the meantime, there are plenty of other creatures that could possibly bring harm to your precious town. Just know that, even when I have lost, the Profane Prince has won. You just may not see it yet."_

"_Then we will rise and battle you again!" Thalia declared._

"_As long as you are here, we will know no rest," Odric began. "We will ensure that this prison becomes your tomb, even if we must wait a thousand years."_

"_Then let it be so," the Profane Prince snarled, snapping his finger as a demonic pact etched itself onto Thalia and Odric. "I look forward to seeing you the next time the Blood Moon rises." And with that, he allowed himself to be pulled into the faerie prison…'_

"Never to be heard from again. Some say that he still exists here, the Profane Prince, lying dormant under the town of Thraben, waiting for the right time to rise and take back this world." Narset looked over the class, sighing as she saw the numerous sleeping students. Grabbing a textbook, she slammed it on the desk, startling several of them awake. "I would suggest paying closer attention, everyone. You never know if there's going to be a quiz on this tomorrow." The entire class groaned. One of the students in the front piped up.

"I thought it was a very interesting story, ma'am," Nissa Revane said. The chipper elf smiled at the teacher, easing Narset's frustration with the high schoolers a little.

"Yeah, great if you were in Creative Writing," someone called from the back. "But a little outlandish for a History class if you ask me." Everyone turned to look at Jace Beleren. The junior sat slouching in his seat, his face hidden inside the hood of his blue hoodie, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. "It's just a bunch of myths and faerie tales. This one was likely created to explain away geological activity, claiming that it was a demon trapped underground."

"Well, mr. 'I'm a junior and know more than you pathetic sophomores', did you know that most of those myths and faerie tales were also used to teach life lessons and became integral parts of several cultures?" Nissa retorted. Jace shrugged.

"I just think we should avoid talking about fictional beings like demons and dragons in a class where we're supposed to be learning about real, actual events. Less Profane Prince, more World War II."

"Even if the legends aren't true, we can still learn from, like how older civilizations thought, what they believed that we know now, and what led to their downfall. After all, those who don't learn their history are doomed to repeat it." Jace groaned and facepalmed at the cliche comment.

"Aw," someone cried from the other side of the room. "He's just upset that he scored the lowest on the Legend Of Nicol Bolas quiz during the Asian dynasties unit." The entire class snickered, to which Jace flipped everyone off, which only brought about more snickering and an appalled look from Narset.

"Mr. Beleren! Thirty minute detention after school." Jace only groaned. Narset glanced at the empty desk behind Rowan. "And where on Earth is Ms. Nalaar?!"

* * *

A cherry red 1989 Ford F-150 Extended Cab raced down the winding mountain road, the beautiful Virginia country rushing past, surrounding the truck in crisp morning air and fall colors. The driver of the truck paid no attention to these, though. She was too busy focusing on the song she was listening to. Sixteen year old Chandra Nalaar drummed on her steering wheel as she blasted CCRs _Bad Moon Rising_, paying only enough attention to not drive off the edge of the road. She wasn't taking in the scenery, nor did she notice the motorcycle of a state trooper come up behind her, until the siren sounded, that is. Chandra groaned, turning the music down as she slowed and pulled over. The trooper walked over to the driver's side door, rapping her knuckles on the window. Chandra rolled it down, looking at the woman, her tan uniform, dark sunglasses, and serious posture made it clear that she wasn't going to go easy on her today. "Out of the vehicle Ms. Nalaar."

"Yeah, yeah, okay," Chandra sighed as she turned her truck off and stepped out. "Can you make this quick Lavinia? I'm on my way to school."

"Your school day started half an hour ago."

"Wait, it did? Shit. No wonder Rowan wasn't there this morning."

"Ms. Nalaar, I could care less about your morning routine at the moment. I pulled you over on account of your speed. There is a twenty-five mile an hour speed limit on this road. Do you know how fast you were going?"

"Uh, twenty-six?" Chandra shrugged.

"Try forty-seven."

"Oh." Chandra looked taken aback. "I-I had no clue. Though, you have to admit, that's pretty damn impressive given the switchbacks on this road." The redhead winked, clearly trying and failing to lighten the mood Lavinia had set, as was clear on the older woman's face. The trooper sighed.

"Chandra, I know you like to have fun, but please keep that attitude reserved for extracurricular activities and sporting events instead of on the road. The vast majority of people in Innistrad County either drive work vehicles or are thirty year olds that drive like they don't want to live, making driving that speed very dangerous, even if very common. Plus, I know your mother would be very disappointed. For today, I'm just going to let you off with a warning, but you better hope this doesn't happen again." Chandra nodded.

"Alrighty then. Soooo, I _really_ need to get to school."

"Go." And with that, the two women returned to their respective vehicles, but Chandra turned to Lavinia before they took off.

"By the way, Mom wanted to let you know that unless something comes up with you, the two of you are still on for that spa night."

"You can tell her I'll be there."

"Sweet. Also, can you maybe just, uh, maybe nooooot bring this little incident up with Mom?"

Lavinia laughed. "I'll consider it. Now get to school before you're even later."

"Yeah, going." Both of them took off, nearing the town limits of Thraben.

* * *

Chandra stepped into the school building and was immediately greeted by another student. "Hey hey hey! Look who finally decided to show up," he said. The boy had on business casual attire with a lapel pin for the school engineering team, the Izzet League, haphazardly hanging from his collar.

"Oh, shut it Ral," Chandra playfully warned. "Though, pretty good way to learn that you can't rely on Rowan to wake you up."

"I would have thought you would have been up before her based on how you're dressed." Looking down at her outfit, Chandra realised that he wasn't wrong. It looked like she had gotten dressed blind, from the dirty hiking boots, to the ripped and faded jeans, the wrinkled green flannel that had a funk that never went away, and of course, her favorite red t-shirt that was inside out today to hide the mustard stains. Her rats nest of bedhead didn't help her appearance either, especially when standing next to her best friend and his slicked back salt and pepper hair, making him look more like a well respected CEO than a highschool sophmore.

"Anyway. I had some good news for you, but I'm considering making you wait to hear it."

"Oh?" Ral waggled an eyebrow. "You know you want to tell me."

"Ha, cute. You know that move only works on your boyfriend, right Sparky?"

"I'll make it work."

"It hasn't since third grade. Trust me, it's not going to work. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to class."

"Since when have you cared about being punctual?"

"Since I got put in Earth Science with Mr. Wildspeaker."

"Ooh, rough. Also, you get to lead the freshmen tour this afternoon. Apparently, that's the worst punishment Ms. Narset could think of for missing her class." Chandra groaned.

"I guess it could be worse?" She shrugged as she walked backwards towards the greenhouse.

"Whatever you say, Red." He didn't bother to warn her about the trash can behind her as she collided with it, instead laughing at his friends misfortune and running off to the library, narrowly dodging a half-eaten apple to the head.

* * *

After a rather uneventful day, Chandra got ready for the tour, which consisted of cleaning her face a bit and getting her reading glasses handy to be able to see the notes that had been provided on the building's history. Once that was done, she pulled out her phone to check the time, only to discover that she was late and that the incoming freshmen would be showing up to the lobby at any second. She raced through the halls, hoping that she wouldn't leave them waiting to long, mostly for her own sake, as she would never hear the end of it from Ral, Ms. Narset, or Principal Markov. _Okay, I might only get a stern talk from the last two_, she thought to herself. She was so lost in thought about the consequences that she didn't notice the person in front of her until they collided. "Shit, I'm so sorry," Chandra said quickly.

"No worries," the girl she had run into replied cheerily. The redhead took a second, but was able to recall who the girl was. She was Nissa Revane, the elf in her first period class.

"What are you doing here?" Chandra asked.

"I volunteered to help with the freshmen tour. Unfortunately, I'm running a little behind due to having to talk with Coach Jura about my Phys Ed class, or rather, my asthma that could hinder me in it."

"Oh, well, don't feel too bad. I'm stuck doing the same tour. You're doing this willingly?"

"Yeah! It's fun, getting to talk about the history of the place we come to every day. Wait, you must be. . . Chandra! Yeah. Ms. Narset seemed pretty upset that you missed her class today. And you missed a super fun story."

"Can we just get the tour done?" Chandra groaned as they entered the lobby, which was packed with new students. She fumbled around in her bag for a second as searched for the papers with the building notes, putting her reading glasses on so that she would be ready when she needed to read them off.

"Good afternoon everyone," Nissa bursted out, sounding like a cheerful kindergarten teacher. "I'm so glad you all could make it, and I'm sure we're all going to have fun together on this tour." There were several groans from the crowd of students.

"Yeah, that's more like a high school attitude," Chandra remarked with a small chuckle. "Right, let's go. We don't got all day, freshies. First stop, trophy hall." She began walking backwards, wary of stray trash cans, but impressing some of the new students that she knew the school layout that well. "It's pretty empty, if that's any surprise. We literally only get recognized for our track team thanks to a couple of seniors, Samut and Elspeth. Anyway, this building used to be a church a few centuries ago, and trophy hall is the corridor that led down to the cathars armory, which is now the present day faculty room. Hope and pray that you never have to go in there, because a student never needs to go in there unless they're talking with Principle Markov, and that's never good. But if you take a right here instead of continuing down the foreboding stone tunnel, you'll find a few more rooms, the most important being the apothecary. Someone thought that it would be a good idea to keep the gothic feel of the place, so apothecary is what we call the school medical room and biology classroom. It gets a little awkward in there at times because of that, but we're a little short on space." Chandra continued through the tour, walking backwards the entire time. Nissa would occasionally interject something, but the focus was on the redhead almost the entire time, be it her knowing the school layout well enough that she didn't even need to look at it to travel it, or various other reasons for some of the boys in the crowd. They finished the tour in a little under an hour, with even Nissa being shocked at how much historical significance the building had. "I'm beginning to think that this place should have been a museum instead of a school," Chandra joked.

"I actually kind of wish it was," Nissa said. "It probably wouldn't be as cold then." The elf wrapped her arms around herself, her green sweatshirt clearly not working as well as she'd hoped.

"Well, I'm gonna be headed home. I'll give you a ride if you want. I usually keep my truck a bit cooler, but I can probably bear the heat for a little bit."

"That would be nice. Thank you."

"No problem. I'm parked in front of the post office across the street." Nissa nodded, and the two girls got in the truck. Chandra noted how uncomfortable Nissa seemed now that it was just them. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no. I'm just not used to one on one. I can handle large groups no problem. Heck, I called out Mr. Beleren earlier today on some of his remarks in class, but I'd have been a nervous wreck if the two of us had been alone."

"Well, Jace is an asshole, so the more people to see him get humiliated, the better. What did you say your address was again?"

"79 Hanwier Drive."

"Hang on." Chandra pulled over and turned to look at Nissa. "You walk to school from _there_?!" The elf nodded. "Well, I hope you can put up a good fight. All kinds of druggies and gangs in that part of town."

"The rent is cheap," she quietly mumbled. The elf seemed to shrink a bit, as if she was trying to hide.

"So, do you live with anyone? Parents, siblings, awkward third cousins that are probably only related through some undocumented redneck marriage?" The last one got a laugh out of Nissa.

"I live with my roommate Kaya, but she's going off to college in Texas later this year."

"Tell you what. I'll talk with one of my friends. You seem nice, and she might be able to set you up somewhere a bit safer."

"You'd do that?"

"Sure. I've got nothing better to do this evening since Ral is likely occupied with Mortal Kombat or Tomik until the wee hours of the morning, and I'm also hoping that this helps me seem like someone worth being friends with, even if I did forget deodorant this morning."

"I wasn't going to mention it. Thank you."

"Eh, no problem. And would you look at that, we're here." Nissa climbed out and began heading for her small home when she heard Chandra call for her. "If you ever need a ride, just let me know. In the evening, that is. I'm not really a morning person." The dark haired girl smiled.

"Okay, I will. Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow." Chandra waved back at her before pulling out, heading home.

* * *

Chandra knew she was screwed when she pulled into her driveway and saw her mother's gunmetal grey 1979 Pontiac GTO sitting there. She was late. As she stepped inside, she moved for the stairs. Her foot had just hit the first stair when she heard her mother yell: "CHANRA ALIX NALAAR!"

"Shit," she whispered as she froze and winced. Slowly, she made her way into the kitchen, where her mother stood with a very dissapointed scowl on her face. Chandra was amazed that someone two inches shorter than her could be far more intimidating than she could ever be.

"Would you care to explain why you're home so late?"

"Actually," Chandra began guiltily, "my explanation is perfectly reasonable. You see, I had to lead the freshmen tour, which took a little while. Then I had a quick detour to give a ride to one of my classmates, who happened to live in the opposite direction. Then, on the way back, traffic was hell-"

"Language."

"Ugh, fine. Traffic was awful around city hall. Apparently, while this Red Moon thing isn't going to be until the end of the month and only lasts one night, they need to begin setting things up now, clogging the streets for several blocks."

"Well, I suppose that is reasonable, for you, not the city. Just," Pia rubbed her temples, "next time, _please_ let us know when you're going to be late because of something like that so that I don't have to waste time thinking of possible punishments."

"Will do. Now, I'm going to go talk to some of my friends about something. Let me know when dinner's ready please."

"Actually, your father and I are heading to a dinner meeting with Dovin."

"Mr. Baan, the civics teacher?!"

"Yes. He's actually looking for a job in automotive maintenance for his son, and Kiran thinks he might have a suitable opening. Your brother and sister are running some errands, and if you ask them nice enough, they might pick up something for you."

"Well, surrogate siblings, but sure. Let's see if Rowan is more reliable at getting Bojangles than she is at waking someone up in the morning."

"I'm not even going to comment on that."

"Love you too, mom!" Chandra said quickly as she raced to her room. Kicking off her shoes and pulling off her flannel, she flopped down on the bottom bunk of the bed that she was forced to share with Rowan. Luckily, they had similar interests, so she was able to leave some of her posters up, including the ones for Supernatural and the Blue Ridge Parkway, though, Rowan had insisted that she also let her put up her Twilight poster, which Chandra had been wanting to burn from day one. Instead of focusing on that, though, she pulled out her phone and began texting.

**CN:** Hey Row, I got home a little late. You mind grabbing me some Bojangles or something?

**RK:** I'm actually waiting on an order from the butcher. I'll ask Will. The usual?

**CN:** Would I be me if I got anything else?

…

**WK:** So, they have a new dessert biscuit out. Knowing you, should I get it?

**CN:** Hell. Yes. Get 10.

…

**CN:** Hey Jhoira! I know we haven't talked in a little while, but I have a friend stuck in the Hanweir neighborhood and I was wondering if you could possibly find a way to help them. I don't like them living in that area of town. Please? :)

**J:** _*Read 6:42pm*_

"Okay, harsh," Chandra said.

…

**CN:** Just letting you know off the bat that the eyebrow still didn't work. I'm just letting you know this because I need help with installation.

**RZ:** Okay? Spit it out.

**CN:** IT CAME IN!

**RZ:** The new brush guard for your truck?

**CN:** No Sparky. A new sports bra came in.

**RZ: **Then why do I need to know about it?

**CN:** RAAAAAGH!

**RZ:** ;)

**RZ:** Love ya Red

**CN: **Save it for your boyfriend

**RZ: **Speaking of, Tomik wants to watch a movie. TTYL

**CN:** Bye

Chandra sprawled out on her bed, giggling at her friend's antics as she put on her headphones, starting up her Guns & Roses playlist and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**How's it, Driver 3196 here. I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter. Don't worry, the story will get **_**much**_ **darker, but for now, we're just learning the characters and environment. So if you want to learn more, please review. Until then, Driver Out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Friends New And Old**

Jace couldn't decide which was more annoying, the rumble of the truck's engine or the constant clanking of the hook at the end of the wench that came with the recently added brush guard. He did know that Chandra Nalaar was taking forever to get her truck parked. Why she insisted on parallel parking in front of the post office he would never know. "You're early," he said as she approached the building.

"Couldn't sleep well, maybe ten minutes and then up the rest of the night, so might as well come over here on time," the redhead replied. She truly looked like she had stayed up all night, even wearing the same clothes as the day before.

"Have you showered recently?"

"I washed my hair around two this morning."

"Only your hair?" Chandra nodded. "That's disgusting. Though, that also explains the smell. You smell like death."

"No, I smell like a musty attic. If you really want to smell death, there's a morgue nearby. Maybe you can finally find some friends there who won't leave you due to you being a total prick. Oh, what am I saying, even the dead couldn't stand the all mighty Jace Beleren." Chandra made her way into the building, ignoring the glare from the older boy. Jace leaned back against his white 2015 Mclaren Spider as he watched another vehicle pull up to the school, a yellow 2018 Ford Fusion, and out stepped Tomik Vrona, the son of the second most wealthy family in the city behind mayor Baan. Following him was the mad scientist Ral Zarek, who Tomik had decided to start dating for some reason.

"Vrona," Jace waved at him. Tomik glanced at Chandra's truck and said something to Ral, who quickly walked inside as his boyfriend turned his attention back to Jace.

"You need something?"

"I'm needing answers. First of all, your father invited my family to his charity gala on the thirty-first to celebrate the Blood Moon, and I was wondering what the chances of me getting to bring a plus one might be."

"Ah. For most people your age attending, slim. Though, father has always taken a liking to you, so he may be willing to make an exception. I suspect that we will be seeing both you and Ms. Verlasen there."

"Tacenda and I were never a thing. Why do people keep thinking that we are a thing?" Jace ran his hands through his hair. "No, you can expect to seem me their with Vivien."

"Ah, Ms. Reid. Father will certainly approve of your choices. He always admired her. As someone of status would admire a protege, of course."

"Speaking of, you're someone of status. So why do you associate yourself with lowlifes like Ral and Chandra?"

"Ms. Reid must not be as dear to you as you think if you don't understand. When you truly love someone, wealth and status become meaningless concepts. Also, keep in mind that Chandra's mother owns a car that many here would consider to be nicer and potentially more valuable and costly than yours."

"Whatever. And don't you dare say anything else about how I feel about Vivien." Tomik shrugged and walked inside, joining the larger group of students that had also begun to file in, leaving Jace alone to stew in his thoughts. The junior sulked for a bit before slamming the roof of his car with a frustrated grunt and storming inside.

* * *

Chandra looked up from the book she was reading when she heard someone else come into the school, and was greeted with a friendly wave from Ral. "Hey Sparky," she called. He walked over and plopped down beside her, the old bench she was sitting on heaving from the sudden addition of weight.

"Whatcha reading?"

"Trying to get caught up in my book project in World History. I'm doing mine on The Thran. It's fairly interesting, actually. A guy called Yawgmoth manipulates a bunch of old political crones to give him more and more power after he returns from exile. He colonizes a new country where he's basically a god to the natives thanks to the Thran's severe advances in technology. Basic Eurasian dickwad eugenist who threw morality out the window to get more power."

"Sounds similar to most politicians today."

"Yeah, it does. Though, kill two birds with one stone, since I have to read this same exact book in psychology next month as we cover eugenics and the philosophy behind it."

"A smart student would be taking notes on key details and maybe even checking to see if they could get an idea of the assignments ahead of time so that they're prepared. I assume that you aren't doing any of that."

"Pfft, I'm just getting started on the project portion of this book for history, and that was assigned a week ago and due by the end of this week."

"Why am I not surprised. Oh," Ral sounded more excited now, "I just remembered. You're not the only one who's been doing any reading lately. You know that mansion near the edge of town, in the more run down area of Gavony?" Chandra nodded. "Well, turns out that that area of town used to be the center of operations in the sixteen hundreds. It belonged to the town proprietors, Odric and Thalia Lunarch and later to a man by the name of Edgar Markov, ancestor of Principle Markov. Turns out that the current town hall was placed there after the American Revolution, since it proved easier to protect after a few British troops attacked Thraben, killing almost everyone in that mansion. It's believed that the spirits of those killed there still remain."

"Yeah, I heard something about that when I moved here. Edgar was a Count, and therefore the place has been dubbed The Count's Manor. But haunted, really? Is it like Mansion On Grimm Hill horror game style haunted or fully conscious Harry Potter ghosts style haunted?"

"That's what I intend to find out."

"Sorry what?!"

"Yeah, I'm planning on spending the night there, see if there is any paranormal activity there, and if so, what kind."

"You are _the dumbest_ genius I have ever met."

"I'm the only genius you've ever met."

"That I can remember. I lived in the metropolitan hub of Ghirapur until I was six, you know."

"And what could the people there possibly know that I don't," Ral remarked with a playful grin.

"They probably know not to spend the night in a condemned building."

"If it was condemned, they would have torn it down."

"From what you told me, it has historical significance, and therefore can't be torn down."

"Then it's fair game. Still better than looking for bears in the Ulvenwald just to say you found a bear."

"I had plans on what I was going to do when I found one. Let's call it an ambitious experiment."

"Yeah, because filming the results of kicking a bear in the balls is totally for science and not YouTube. Anyway, people have reported hauntings in that place for years. Most have been dismissed as crazy or drunken hallucinations, but none of them had the tools to verify their claims either. I'm going to be spending the night with an EMF reader, a thermal camera, and a voice recorder, see if I can find anything, be it voices, cold spots, or unexplainable occurrences are you even listening?"

"Wha-oh yeah, drunk tools." Ral groaned.

"What did you see?" he droned out. Chandra's face flushed as he looked past her to the elf that had just entered the building, wandering around like she was lost. "Oh, I see now."

"I-it's not like that."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I've only known her for like a day and want to get to know her better. But she's just a friend, Ral. Besides, you had a far worse reaction when you first met Tomik. Couldn't focus for a week."

"I was also going into withdraw from a coffee addiction."

"Something you're still trying to sort out."

"Nope, it's just one of my many charming characteristics now."

"That sentence was mostly true."

"Awe, you know you love me. Everyone loves me."

"That black eye you had last week would beg to differ. I'm off to class, don't want to miss history two days in a row." Ral waved her off as he got up to join his boyfriend at the entrance, so she attempted to push her way through the crowd. A few of the football players decided to start clowning around, one of them accidentally slamming into her. While Chandra considered herself athletic, being five three didn't help her at all when someone twice her size was thrown into her, knocking her to the ground. Well, almost, as her face collided with Nissa's abdomen, taking the elf down with her. The two hit the ground with a thud, nobody else paying them any mind. Chandra groaned, more annoyed than anything until she realized the position she was in, quickly scrambling up off of Nissa, who sheepishly sat up with a grimace.

"I'm sorry about that," Nissa said.

"No, I was the one who slammed into you," Chandra pointed out. "Besides, if anyone should be apologizing, it's the asshole who body slammed me."

"I suppose."

"So, how have you been up until now?" Chandra asked as she helped her up.

"Not terrible. I only had to kill one cockroach last night, and Kaya was out late, so I was able to get to sleep before the TV was abused to blare crappy eighties sit-coms."

"And I thought having to put up with Rowan's snoring was bad. Do you at least know what sit-coms were played?"

"No. They were so obscure that I doubt they even made it into mainstream. But there was one night that a couple episodes of Night Court were aired around four in the morning, which was a decent change. Somehow Kaya manages to fall asleep through all of those, which I will never understand. And didn't you wear that same outfit yesterday?"

"Guilty as charged. Last night was my night for absolutely no sleep, save for like ten minutes that was ended by the need to pee."

"I'm not sure I needed to know that last detail."

"Sorry, I have a habit of oversharing information with friends."

"Friends?"

"What, you wouldn't consider us friends?"

"Uh, I'm not sure what I would consider us."

"And I was about to congratulate you on your first full conversation without any social awkwardness."

"Sorry."

"It's actually kinda funny, honestly." Nissa's face turned beet red as they entered the classroom, taking their respective seats and waiting for Ms. Narset to begin.

* * *

Lunch period rolled around, the one time where students could get off of campus due to the school lacking a functioning kitchen for those who don't bring a bag lunch. Chandra usually just made the five minute walk to Bojangles, using only twenty minutes of the provided hour and a half, but today was different. A new restaurant had opened up, only a three minute drive from the school. The owner was a man from North Carolina by the name of Sarkhan Vol who introduced a new kind of barbeque to the area that Ral claimed was the best thing he had ever tasted. "Slow cooked, vinegar based, pulled pork. I believe it's called Lexington style, and so far, it's the best thing to happen to a pig," Ral raved as he, Chandra, Tomik, and Nissa all filed into a booth, Chandra placing an order for four strawberry milkshakes.

"Geez, you're a little excited about this," Tomik said with a laugh.

"You will be too once you've tried it."

"I'll be impressed if it can get me away from Bojangles at least once a month," Chandra said.

"Trust me, this'll pull you away from your beloved Bojangles at least once a week."

"You looking forward to trying what Ral believes to be the ambrosia of the gods, Nissa?"

"I'm actually. . . vegetarian," she mumbled.

"They have good beans, too," Ral smiled triumphantly. Tomik facepalmed.

"So, Nissa, you ever hear of The Count's Manor?"

"Is that really going to be the first thing you ask her?" Chandra questioned. "Not even getting to know her, just 'Do you know about this thing?'."

"Don't you remember how we first met?"

"Yeah, you sat down across from me at lunch, and the first thing out of your mouth was 'Due to the high melting point of lazotep and its conductivity, would it be the superior material for a circuit board over traditional materials like copper?' And you're lucky that I was curious, and we learned later that week that third grade Ral knew jack shit about circuit boards." Everyone laughed at this, even Ral, before he turned his attention back to Nissa.

"So, Count's Manor."

"Are you talking about the haunted mansion in the old Gavony neighborhood?" Ral nodded. "Yeah, it's really weird. Nobody can stand being near it for too long, especially alone. I've lived here all my life, and in that time, it's been struck by lightning and caught fire seven times. But the flames go out on their own and the house takes no damage from the fire. Nobody can explain it, save for a few cultists who believe that the spirits of the town proprietors are trying to draw our attention back there due to that being the old government area, or that they're upset that the town expanded into what was once vast farmland."

"That checks," Chandra interjected. "A bunch of old people being grumpy because things aren't the way they were back in their day."

"I don't know if I would really take anything those cultists seriously. Not only do they believe that their leader is secretly a werewolf, but they took the joke of the pastafarianism religion too far and now believe that a giant tentacle creature named Emrakul is going to descend from the heavens and kill anyone she believes in unworthy."

"I never said it was a good explanation," Nissa defended. "So why do you want to know?" she asked Ral.

"Because this idiot," Chandra jabbed a thumb at Ral, "is planning on spending the night." Nissa's jaw dropped.

"Don't do that! People have reportedly gone insane just spending an hour inside. Whatever is in there is far from safe. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone."

"That's Truffles for ya," Tomik commented. "Always looking for new and inventive ways to get himself killed."

Chandra snorted out a laugh. "Wait, you call him Truffles?!"

"Yeah. I thought you knew that." Ral's face began resembling his milkshake as they talked. "So what do you call him."

"I've been calling him Sparky since like fourth grade."

"Huh, Sparky. I actually kinda like that. Fits him better."

"We would both have fun nicknames," Ral started.

"Truffles doesn't sound that fun," Nissa said.

"But he didn't think Bankroll would sound too polite in public," Ral continued, his face now redder than Chandra's truck.

"Was that seriously the best you could come up with?" Chandra asked with a second snort. Ral just dropped his head to the table in response as their food arrived.

"So what does he call you?" Nissa asked Chandra.

"I've earned the nickname Red from a few different people, for obvious reasons."

"Yeah, like her infamous temper," Ral said, his voice muffled by the table. "A red-hot rage searing any target."

"He tends to over exaggerate."

* * *

After a satisfying lunch and an easy rest of the school day, Chandra cruised down the mountain road towards her home, Baba O' Rielly by The Who on the radio. Once again, she was left alone with her thoughts, all of which were on what Nissa had said about the house her best friend was planning on spending the night in. What if he was wrong about his chances? What would happen if he actually went insane or got hurt? That building was unstable with or without ghosts, and Ral wasn't known for his cautious nature, part of why they got along so well, and got injured together just as often as they did get in trouble. She couldn't help but worry about him, the only true friend she'd had until meeting Nissa. . . god, was that just yesterday? Today had been as long as it had been uneventful, as most days were, and everything sort of ran together, just like Chandra almost did with the road barrier. She had been so lost in thought that her attention had strayed from the road. She turned and hit the brakes, tires squealing as she drifted around the turn, narrowly avoiding the cliff. As she came to a stop, she looked back at the dark marks freshly added to the asphalt, realizing how narrowly she had escaped a painful fall. Starting up again, she noticed a fog bank begin rolling in as fat raindrops fell on her windshield. "Shit," she muttered as she moved to start cracking the window up. "I should really invest in power windows next." She had just gotten the window up when the engine to her truck began to stall. That wasn't right, it had just been inspected! The fog around her thickened as the radio became more and more static, whining as it strained for the station, and then everything shut off. All the lights on her truck, the engine of the truck, her phone, even her fitbit wasn't working. Chandra was stuck alone, unable to see past the hood of her truck, and in the dark where no one knew where she was. She was officially scared, her breath coming out quick and ragged. The cab of the truck grew cold, too cold for October second in Virginia as frost formed around the edges of the windows and her breath became visible clouds. Wrapping her arms around herself to conserve heat, she debated getting out to see if she could find her way around when a dim light came through the fog. It was a pale light, but light nonetheless. She squinted, straining to find the source when an off-white semi came barrelling through the fog, inches away from the side of her truck. It looked beaten to hell and seemed to be the source of the pale light, and seemed to be slightly translucent as well. The rig blew by her as loud as a freight train before disappearing into the fog, the light disappearing with it. The fog now moved out as quickly as it had rolled in, and Chandra jumped as all of her devices, including her truck, switched back on. Looking at her phone, she was horrified to discover that she had been sitting there for three hours. "Mom's going to kill me." But she was more confused as to how that much time had passed without her noticing, and if the rig had anything to do with it. She decided to look into it when she got home, which would be soon as she pulled into her neighborhood. She lived in a two-story rustic cabin style home in a small neighborhood made up of several two-story rustic cabin style homes surrounding a small lake outside of Thraben. About the only reason the homes out here didn't cost three prices and your soul was because hardly anyone knew about them, meaning that strange things could happen out here and the rest of the town would be none the wiser. She pulled into her driveway, expecting to see her mother standing there. But instead, she simply came up to an open garage door with Rowan working out to Black Eyed Peas music. The blond gave her a curt nod as she finished up her final rep and turned the music off.

"Look who decided to show up," she said. "What took so long?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"I got caught in the most spontaneous fog bank ever and when I got out after a minute three hours had passed. And there was a weird truck there too."

Rowan mouthed in shock for a second before speaking. "Neeever mind."

"Are you even sweating?"

"No, it's super cool out there. Natural AC. Also, Will made dinner. I haven't had a chance to eat yet either, so I guess we have to thank him."

"Well, it depends. Did he pull a Will and just go through drive-thru or did he actually cook something. Because if it's the second option, I think we should be cursing him instead." The two girls looked at each other with serious faces before bursting out laughing as they went inside. They entered to the smell of something burnt and Will off in the living room.

"Whatcha doin'," Chandra called.

"Trying to beat your score," Will replied. He had been trying for months, and despite his mastery of every other song, Will still couldn't beat Chandra's score on Through The Fire And The Flames.

"Great, you've corrupted my brother," Rowan playfully groaned.

"It's not that bad," Will said as he entered the kitchen. "And Ro, please go put a shirt on. Neither of us are Titus." Rowan huffed as her cheeks grew red, getting a giggle out of Chandra, which was cut short by a gag as she saw what Will pulled out of the oven. "It's meatloaf."

"It's a loaf of something," Chandra said. "But I can tell you now, that something is no longer meat."

"So maybe the top's a little burnt. It's still edible." Will took a knife and attempted to break through the burnt top, a vain effort after wrestling with it for a minute.

"I'll run out and grab something from the first Wendy's I pass," Chandra decided.

"You do that," Rowan said. "I'm going to go get a crowbar."

"It's really not, that, bad," Will said, exasperated, as he continued to pry at the substance, pulling up a bent knife. "Okay, get a crowbar."

* * *

Tomik looked around nervously, the wind whipping through the air, breaking the layer of warmth his jacket was providing and chilling his skin. "Are you sure about this, Ral?" he asked, his voice shaky. "You remember what Ms. Revane said about this place, right?"

"Yeah, a bunch of ominous horse shit created by cultists to keep people away from something."

"I don't know. The reports on this place seem to agree with her."

"If you're that worried, you can remain in the car. I'm going to stay in the house." Ral entered the manor, the old door creaking as it slammed shut behind him. His flashlight flickered a bit as he swept it over the entry hall. The manor looked much smaller on the outside. Making his way up to the attic, everything seemed to creak around him, and while he wouldn't admit it at the time, it did unnerve him a bit. He climbed into the attic, ignoring the noose that was hanging in the corner and laying down under the window. It felt at least ten degrees cooler inside than it did outside, and Ral was shivering a bit. "I should have brought a blanket," the thought out loud. "I'll be fine. Tomik's just overreacting." And with that, he settled in for what he figured would be the most uncomfortable night's sleep of his life.

* * *

**How's it, Driver here. I hope that this chapter was satisfactory, and there are more like this and better on the way. So if you would like to see more, follow the story to get alerted on new chapter releases and please review and give your thoughts. Feedback is always appreciated. Until next time, Driver out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Troll**

Chandra jolted awake as something cold sloshed over her, and she scowled at Rowan, who was standing over her with a now empty bucket of ice water. The redhead simply flipped her off as she climbed out of the soaked bed. "What time is it?" she mumbled.

"About five in the morning," Rowan smirked. Chandra's eyes went about as wide as they could while still half asleep. "What? I've been up for an hour already. It's great running weather." Chandra groaned, grabbing her phone and heading for the bathroom as a call came through. She saw Tomik's caller ID, deciding to answer it just to tell him off for calling this early, but was never given the chance to speak. The young man on the other end of the line could barely form sentences for all the sobbing he was doing, and what he did say caused Chandra to drop her phone in shock. She took time to process what she had just heard as she sunk to her knees as she too began to cry. Rowan rushed out to see what had happened, giving Chandra a concerned look. She didn't even bother to ask, simply wrapping her arms around the sobbing girl as her body convulsed from the crying.

* * *

Chandra stayed home from school that day, and nobody was surprised. She was left alone, something she didn't mind. Her mind was still reeling from the news that morning. "That house," she muttered to herself. "That goddamn house." She didn't leave the couch unless she had to use the bathroom, refusing to eat, shower, or do anything for that matter. She just sat, unmoving throughout the day, even as Will and Rowan came home, the former not even getting a chuckle out of Chandra as he complained about the 'Kick Me' sign Temmet had put on his back. She only stirred when her mother came home with information about the funeral.

"He's being buried at Kessig cemetery, with the memorial at three tomorrow and the burial shortly after." Chandra simply nodded, wrapping her mother in a hug as she continued to sob. Pia stroked her daughters hair, trying to soothe her. "I know this is rough for you. I went through a similar stage when your grandfather died, and I'm sure Will and Rowan have a similar story for when their father was declared deceased."

"Yes, but that's different," Chandra croaked out. "They never found his body. He could very well still be alive. Ral is dead, and there's proof. Tomik found him in that noose. And why? Why did he do it?"

"People have their demons-"

"No, not Ral. There are so many more people that would kill themselves before he would even have the notion. It just doesn't make sense, it's not like him."

"All I can say is that the most unstable people are the ones you would least expect. Humans are good at hiding things-"

"Ral didn't hide anything. He was an open book. I-I-I. . ."

"Maybe you should go for a walk, clear your head." The redhead nodded and walked out the front door, not bothering with a jacket or shoes, despite the chilly October air. She didn't even think about where she was going, just walking the mile loop that made up her neighborhood. After the third lap around, she decided to get something off her chest and called Nissa.

"Hello," the elf said on the other end of the line.

"Hey, so have you heard the news?" Nissa was silent for a minute before responding.

"Ral?"

"Yeah."

"I wouldn't have guessed that he was suicid-"

"He's not!"

"Excuse me?"

"You were right. It was that house. The mansion or Count's Manor or whatever the hell it's supposed to be called. There's something going on there. Something out of the ordinary. There has to be."

"Chandra, those were theories from raving cultists and shaky eyewitness reports. I brought those up because of the building's reputation. Yes, it's weird, but that doesn't mean that there's something going on with it."

"Then we investigate it."

"I beg your pardon?"

"We investigate the manor, see if there's anything remotely off that could have lead to Ral's death. It's just not in his nature to kill himself, so something else had to cause it."

"And if it's just a creepy old house?"

"Then I clearly didn't know my best friend as well as I thought I did, and that's just awful."

"When's the funeral?"

"Tomorrow. Memorial service at three at Kessig cemetery."

"I'll see you there."

"Thank you."

* * *

True to her word, Nissa arrived at Kessig cemetery in time for the service, having only a ten minute walk. She noticed that very few people were actually in attendance, with Chandra, Tomik, Ral's parents, and the seven or so members of the Izzet League and their oversized red salamander Niv-Mizzet. She noted that Chandra and Tomik were dirty and glistening with sweat, dirt staining each piece of their suits. She assumed that they had been the ones to dig the grave Ral was to be buried in, something she certainly couldn't have assisted with in her form-fitting black dress. Scooting into the pew, she sat next to Tomik. "Honestly, I barely knew Ral," she said, "but he seemed like a great guy."

"He was," Tomik said, almost choking on his words.

"How's Chandra holding up?"

"She hasn't spoken at all today. We decided to dig the grave ourselves, and she's been silent since she arrived at four this morning."

"I can imagine that this is hard on both of you, losing someone that close."

"I loved Ral, but I knew several people both before and after meeting him. Ral was Chandra's first and only true friend for as long as I knew her. She has a hard time opening up to people, usually hitting you with a front of sarcasm and playful insults before you truly get to know her."

"And what's she like once you get past that front?"

"I'll tell you once I know. Ral is the only one she would actually open up to. They were like therapists to each other. . . probably not the best analogy, but you get the picture."

* * *

One of the League members muttered something about cliches as it started to rain while they filed out into the cemetery. The pallbearers carried the casket, lowering it as the preacher said a few words about the fleeting nature of life. He then offered for Chandra to come up and say a few words. She didn't budge. She just stood there, soaking in the rain and staring at the grave. It was difficult to tell if she was crying through the rain that had now become a downpour, and nobody bothered to ask. Nissa simply walked over to her, handing her umbrella to Tomik so that she too was soaked, and wrapped her arms around the grieving girl. Everyone headed back to their cars, the rain making their mood even worse, with Niv-Mizzet loudly croaking his annoyance. Only Chandra, Nissa, and Tomik remained.

"Give me the rest of the day and some time tomorrow," Chandra said, her back to the other two.

"Uh, to do what exactly?" Tomik asked.

"To check the web, the school library, public library, anything I have access to. See what I can find about the manor, any detail, no matter how small, absurd, or pointless. And then tomorrow night, we investigate the house."

"Woah, hey, I see where you're coming from, thinking that it was the house or something in it that killed Ral, but don't you think provoking it would just make things worse?"

"There has to be something in there, I know it. And I need to know what it is."

"And what if there's nothing there. It is just a house," Nissa pointed out.

"As far as we know, it's just a house. But there has to be some sort of outside force here. There has to be!"

"I'm sorry Chandra, but the only other reasonable explanation for Ral's death is murder, and there was nothing there to prove that anyone entered to kill him or that anyone but Ral was inside. By suggesting the paranormal, that accepts the ravings of mad cultists, and makes this place far more dangerous than any of us realized, but the worst we have to fear is icy roads in the next couple of months and the possible overly-social bear. Again, I'm sorry, but there's no point in exploring a condemned building to prove the existence of the non-existent."

Chandra struggled to form a response as Nissa turned to leave, turning to Tomik instead. "You'll join, right?"

"I don't know. . ." he began.

"Oh come on. You knew Ral almost as well as I did."

"I know a few things about him that you probably wouldn't have wanted to know. Mostly explicit, but. . ."

"Ew, gross, anyway, you know that this isn't who Ral is. He wouldn't just kill himself. There's something there."

"I, uh, I-I don't know. I don't know anymore. I do know that I never want to set foot in that house again. If it's haunted, great, Ral wasn't hiding the biggest secret of all. If not, he should have joined theater."

"ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TRYING TO MAKE A JOKE OUT OF THIS!" The outburst caused Tomik to jump. The look of pure rage on Chandra's face scared him, and he hurriedly shook his head. "Well, whether you're in or out, I'm going tomorrow. Show up if you want." She stomped passed him, splashing mud everywhere.

* * *

All the internet had yielded was bad fanfiction on the Mansion Terror horror game, and the public library had removed any books on the house due to political controversy years ago that Chandra didn't even begin to want details on. All the public archives had was information about it as a historic site circa 1950, the rest of the files lost in a massive forest fire that had decimated the town. With only one possible source left, she headed for school.

…**..**

Entering the lobby, she wasn't surprised that nobody paid any attention to her. Besides, it gave her time to peruse the library without anyone questioning what she was looking for, and she was lucky enough to find just that. She slammed a massive stack of books on one of the tables, earning an evil eye from the librarian. Rolling her own eyes, she sat down and began to read. This seemed to be where any books from the public library were brought when they weren't wanted there, given the massive selection on obscure topics, especially the Manor, and the fact that the public library labeling was still on most of them. Sure, she could have spent her Saturday doing anything else, but she figured that if she was going to investigate the Manor, researching its history in depth would be the best thing she could do beforehand. Having never considered herself a bookworm, she was surprised to find that she had been there reading for three hours straight. Already halfway through, she slumped over in frustration, only finding the early history of the house, none of which would be relevant to her goal. Looking through the next book, she found more of the same, and resisted the urge to scream. She was so focused on her anger at the lack of information that she didn't notice the man who came up to the table she sat at, placing a thin black book on top of the stack. "That should help you," he said. His voice sounded familiar, but Chandra couldn't quite place it. As she picked up the book, she noted how old it seemed, treating it with care so as not to damage it, and flipped the cover open. She gasped at what was written on the first page. In thin, golden calligraphy, the words: _Markov Family Journal_. It seemed legit, but who could have gotten ahold of this? She looked up to thank the man, but in the seconds it had taken her to open the book, he had disappeared, and given the size of the library, he either went through a window or vanished into thin air.

"Weird," she muttered before turning her attention back to the book. It couldn't have been more than fifty pages, many of them creased, stained, and all yellowed with age. As she looked through the book, she discovered that the handwritten pages all shared calligraphy from the first page, but various sections had slightly different styles, as if written by different people, a detail she never would have picked up on any other day. "What is happening," she asked? "It's almost like something's making me pay attention, and almost as successfully as Ms. Narset. Now that's supernatural," she joked. Deciding that she needed to look over that specific book more, she checked to make sure it wasn't library property, and then put it in her bag.

* * *

Nissa was glad to get out of the house. Between Kaya's rap music, one of her college friends clogging the only toilet and making the house smell like a septic tank at max capacity, the overwhelming smell of weed, and the pounding headache she was getting from it all, the fresh air was a pleasant escape. Walking deeper into the woods along one of her favorite paths, she mentally kicked herself for not bringing an umbrella as the sky grew darker, wrapping her arms around herself as the wind picked up, making her regret wearing only leggings, converse, and a blue tank top. Despite this and the increasing chill, she kept walking, not wanting to go back to the hell her budget forced her to live in. As she walked, the wind became more violent, and small drops of rain began hitting her skin, causing her to shiver. And then she heard it, what sounded like a voice on the wind, calling her name. Its high-pitched hum echoed around her, beckoning her off the path and deep into the darkness of the Ulvenwald. "_Come with us, Nissa. Our master will keep you safe,_" they called. They knew her name! "_Our master is very kind. It is cold, and he will keep you warm. Come with us, Nissa. Come and play!_" The voices gave a childish giggle, but her ears picked up something else, a snort, like a deer, but from something much larger. She whipped around, ignoring the cold and the rain that had now increased to a torrent, and attempting to ignore the wind that whistled around her, now carrying the stench of death. She peered into the forest in the direction of the odor, barely making out a tall silhouette among the trees. She didn't have to wait long, however, as it lumbered forward, the stench assaulting her senses as the image of the creature assaulted her eyes. It was a tall, ugly beast, standing on two thick legs, a deerskin loincloth around its waist. Its overweight belly hung over the loincloth, drawing her gaze upward. Its back and neck were bent forward, with excess skin hanging from its cheeks and chin, patches of hair doing little to cover its grotesque welts. It had a long, crooked nose, wide ears, and hollow eyes, and its long arms hoisted up the tree trunk it had wrapped a gnarled hand around. "_Our master will keep you warm in his belly. Let him feast with you, and save you from the storm._" The voices grew deeper and more menacing as they said: "_Let him end you!_" Nissa screamed as the troll swung the trunk down towards her. Luckily, she was nimble, dodging the tree and bolting down the path. As she followed said path, she heard the troll thumped along behind her. Frantically looking around her, she noticed that the random divots on either side of the path that she often ignored fit the size and shape of the troll's feet, and she realized that the path was not safe. Instead, she turned, hoping she was moving towards civilization instead of deeper into the woods. She continued to run, electing to focus on her breathing and ignore the numbness in her fingers, the tiredness in her legs, the stinging as branches ripped shallow gashes in fabric and flesh as she ripped through them, in the thundering demise close behind her. She just kept running, spots forming in her vision as she pushed herself, the troll always just behind her. The voices continued to pester her, both in their childish tone and their menacing growl. And then. . . salvation. She bursted out of the woods, feet landing firmly on asphalt, and was immediately blinded by the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. She heard the squealing of brakes as she stumbled and fell, a door slam, and heavy boots on the pavement.

"Nissa? Are you okay?" a familiar voice asked. Blinking a few times, the elf looked up to see a worried Chandra above her. She looked around, dazed and a little confused, but confusion melted into relief.

"They've stopped," Nissa chirped.

"Excuse me?"

"The voices. They've stopped!"

"Not sure what you're talking about, but you're soaked, half-dressed, muddy, and bleeding."

"So?" Nissa still felt fine, the adrenaline kicking in a little late.

"So, I'm going to face the barrage of comments from the twins at home, which is exactly where I'm taking you to get you patched up." Nissa could only nod as she was guided to the passenger's side of the truck and helped in. As Chandra climbed into the driver's seat, Nissa looked back at the forest, noting the large mass just beyond the treeline in the darkness, its dull eyes glinting in the dim light as it turned to move deeper into the forest.

* * *

**How's it, Driver 3196 here. I know this took a while, but. . . holidays. Well, all I can say is that things really pick up from here. But until then, Driver out.**


End file.
